More Americans work in or near Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City than any other U.S. metro area, but that’s not where the fastest job growth is. For that look to states with low taxes and those that produce fuel for your car and home. The biggest increase in employment last year took place in Midland, Texas, an area between El Paso, Dallas and San Antonio. Hiring in Midland county jumped 11.5% vs. the national average of 1.5%. It’s the third straight quarter that Midland has led the U.S. in job gains, reflecting its prominence in oil and gas...

In case you’re growing tired of waking up every morning and checking social media or reading the Washington Post and hearing about how awful everything is these days, how about some good news? The U.S. Energy Information Administration has finished compiling all of the production numbers for last year and determined that America was the global leader in production of both petroleum and natural gas. And in terms of who else was in the hunt, it wasn’t even close.

New York has a major opportunity to lead the nation in reducing emissions and to strike a blow against inequality by making significant and bold investments in public transit across the state. Transportation is now the top climate culprit in New York state, responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than power plants. While our state is ramping up investments in renewable energy, moving people cleanly and efficiently is absolutely critical too. We must address this need by expanding public transit in ways that will also create family-sustaining employment options, improved public health, safety and mobility. The climate crisis and the transportation...

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) is ripping the White House over high gas prices, arguing President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal is putting a pinch on middle class wallets. “According to energy analysts and experts, President Trump’s reckless decision to pull out of the Iran deal has led to higher oil prices,” Schumer said at a press conference held at an Exxon filling station on Capitol Hill, where a gallon of regular costs $3.89. “These higher oil prices are translating directly to soaring gas prices, something we know disproportionately hurts middle- and lower-income people,” Schumer...

Trump Opens Door to Dangerous Fracking in Northern Arizona A new Trump administration plan proposes to auction off 4,200 acres of public land for oil and gas development in northern Arizona. The lands straddle the Little Colorado River, are within three miles of Petrified Forest National Park, and are near habitat for a federally threatened fish called the Little Colorado spinedace. Drilling and fracking would threaten to deplete and pollute groundwater in the Little Colorado River Basin. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning the September auction—which would convey development rights to fossil-fuel companies—without any site-specific public or environmental...

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro looked to the world of digital currency to circumvent U.S.-led financial sanctions, announcing on Sunday the launch of the "petro" backed by oil reserves to shore up a collapsed economy. The leftist leader offered few specifics about the currency launch or how the struggling OPEC member would pull off such a feat, but he declared to cheers that "the 21st century has arrived!" "Venezuela will create a cryptocurrency," backed by oil, gas, gold and diamond reserves, Maduro said in his regular Sunday televised broadcast, a five-hour showcase of Christmas songs and dancing. The petro, he...

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro looked to the world of digital currency to circumvent U.S.-led financial sanctions, announcing on Sunday the launch of the “petro” backed by oil reserves to shore up a collapsed economy.The leftist leader offered few specifics about the currency launch or how the struggling OPEC member would pull off such a feat, but he declared to cheers that “the 21st century has arrived!”

In a major blow to Republican leaders and after a week full of drama and last-minute vote wrangling, the House failed to pass a farm bill Friday, with several Freedom Caucus members voting no in protest to a lack of immediate action on immigration. The bill failed 198-213. House GOP leaders had been touting the bill as a fulfillment of their campaign promise to overhaul welfare programs. The vote also brings the GOP’s intraparty fissures further into public view. Thirty Republicans joined all Democrats in voting it down.

After years in limbo, a plan to construct a new coal plant has been scrapped. That leaves Ohio without any proposals for new coal-power generation. Environmental groups see this as a critical turning point.Since the early 2000s, the Lima energy plant has been on again and off again. But now the company behind the project is officially bowing out. Neil Waggoner with the Beyond Coal campaign says it’s clear coal is near its end. “We see there are no coal plants under consideration to be built. The current coal plants that are already in the state are struggling to be...

A group of researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a new battery breakthrough that could have a big impact on runtimes for the gadgets. The researchers have developed new material that can address the two chief complaints of batteries used in electronic devices now: relatively runtimes life and unwanted heat production. The team has applied for a patent for a magnetic material that has a unique honeycomb lattice structure that offers distinct electronical properties. “Semiconductor diodes and amplifiers, which often are made of silicon or germanium, are key elements in modern electronic devices,” said Deepak K. Singh, head...

GOP seeks farm bill support amid immigration debate House Freedom Caucus members are trying to flex some muscle on immigration in exchange for support on the farm bill; A sprawling and subsidy-packed farm bill that also would have tightened food stamp rules failed in the House on Friday, in a dramatic defeat for GOP leaders who faced an uprising from conservatives over inaction on immigration. The farm bill, which was voted down 213-198, had been hanging in the balance as the conservative House Freedom Caucus threatened to withhold support without an agreement on an immigration bill vote. The GOP leadership,...

By now, we’re all tired of hearing about the virtual currency turned investment craze known as Bitcoin. Created in response to the 2008 financial crisis, anarcho-capitalists hailed it as the decentralized future of commerce. But as prices soared and the biggest names on Wall Street bought in, Bitcoin became mostly known as a speculative, unregulated investment. Think Beanie Babies, but you can also use them to buy drugs and engage in human trafficking. Perhaps the most remarkable Bitcoin storyline recently has been just how much computational horsepower it takes to create the virtual currency: some 26 quintillion calculations per second....

Japan has 45 new high-energy, low-emission (HELE) coal-fired power plants on the drawing boards. These will probably burn high-quality Australian coal. And despite the tsunami that hit Japan, nuclear power still generates about 20% of Japan's electricity. Chinese companies have plans to build 700 new coal power plants all over the world, mostly in China. In addition, China will bring five new nuclear power reactors online in 2018 and has plans for a further six to eight units. India generates more than 65% of its electricity from thermal power plants, and about 85% of these plants are coal-fired. India's state-run...

This image shows the schematic structure of a new battery cell with lithium metal electrodes developed at Yale and Donghua University. Credit: Yale University ________________________________________________________________________________________ Researchers at Yale and Donghua University in China have developed a new process for creating lithium metal that may boost the energy and capacity of rechargeable batteries. Lithium metal is considered the best option as a material for anodes in high-energy batteries, the researchers said, because of the metal's high potential for providing large amounts of energy and capacity in a given mass. Yet existing lithium metal electrodes, limited by low capacity and utilization efficiency,...

Is anyone paying attention to the crisis that is going on in our electric power markets? Over the past six months, at least four major nuclear power plants have been slated for shutdown, including the last one in operation in California. Meanwhile, dozens of coal plants have been shuttered as well -- despite low prices and cleaner coal. Some of our major coal companies may go into bankruptcy. This is a dangerous game we are playing with our most valuable resource outside of clean air and water. Traditionally, we've received almost half our electric power nationwide from coal and nuclear...

Protests by environmentalists against hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) have been going on for years now, along with the Hollywood efforts of serial fabulists such as Josh Fox. One of the biggest concerns surrounding the process is the possibility of contamination of groundwater. While a previous study in Pennsylvania by the state Department of Environmental Protection revealed zero instances of this happening (except for surface spills during transport of hydraulic fluids), critics discounted the study and the protests continued. Now a different study conducted in Ohio on the Utica shale play has been completed and published. They were looking for evidence...

A state board in California has approved a proposal to require solar panels on all new homes beginning in 2020, a measure that would increase the cost of new construction but provide savings on utilities — and help the state meet ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. California, which is routinely a leader in environmental regulatory efforts, would be the first state in the country with such a requirement. Several cities, including San Francisco and South Miami, Fla., have residential solar panel requirements. The new rule in California would cover all low-rise residential buildings, although houses that are frequently...

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has vowed to write a $4.5 million check to the United Nations body that oversees climate change negotiations to make up the shortfall in the agency's budget caused by U.S. funding cuts. President Donald Trump last year formally announced the U.S. would pull out of the Paris climate accord deal, stating that it was not fair. Congress also cut funding for the Bonn, Germany-based UNFCCC from $7.5 million in previous years to $3 million this year. "America made a commitment and as an American if the government's not going to do it we...

Gasoline prices in Fresno already increased beyond $4 per gallon this week at some places in town. And gas prices are projected to rise even more going into the summer in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. A year ago, the national average for was $2.34 for a gallon of gas, according to a CNN Money report. These days, that national average has jumped to $2.81 per gallon. Those in Fresno can probably add a dollar on top of the national price, with high state taxes and stringent standards for reformulating...